Helping young people fulfil their potential

Our Team

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• Paul Monk

  Co-Founder

  Paul has extensive experience at board level in a variety of grocery industry companies. He is really passionate about what  Working Options in Education can offer young people who aren’t sure about their next steps. Paul is well-networked within the grocery industry and heads up our fund-raising activities.

• Ken Edwards

  Chief Executive

  Ken has worked in the food, drink and retail industry for nearly 30 years in commercial roles to board level. Ken is passionate about supporting students to be the best they can be and helping Working Options in Education become the first port of call for students.

• Lauren Monk

  Co-Founder and Head of Operations

  Lauren has a passion for education and inspiring young people to reach their full potential. After graduating with a Law degree, Lauren spent some time working with the Walt Disney Company and BBC legal teams before joining Mars in a sales role. She is excited to expand the charity’s reach to as many young people as possible and to make a lasting impact on their lives.

• Debbie Armorgie

  Programmes Engagement Manager

  Following a career in radio sponsorship, Debbie spent 10 years as a researcher for a Consumer Goods Executive Search Consultancy. Her network and experience in CV writing, job seeking and recruitment has helped us to develop the Working Options in Education programme.

• Lara Davis

  Marketing & Communications

  Lara brings 25 years’ strategic and tactical experience in charity marketing communications to Working Options in Education. She is former Head of Communications for national charity Citizens Advice and worked for education specialist consultancy, Communications Management.

• Claire McMaster

  Programme Delivery Manager

  After graduating with a BA (Hons) in French and European Studies, Claire gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. She joins Working Options in Education with 23 years of teaching and education leadership experience in Bedfordshire, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Her roles as Headteacher and more recently, supporting young people on their journeys through Initial Teacher Training and Apprenticeships have enabled Claire to bring her insight into education and share the experience she has gained in supporting, teaching and guiding young people on their path to succeed.

• Olivia Gale

  Partner Support & Researcher

  Olivia supports our corporate partners, carries out research and helps us recruit new volunteers from industry.

• Julie Sneddon

  Interim Chair of Trustees

  Julie spent 20 years in senior executive roles and her breadth of knowledge spans the Retail, Consumer Goods, Media and Entertainment industries. Julie left school at 16 and is passionate about helping students succeed.

• Sufian Sadiq

  Trustee

  Sufian is a talented teacher with extensive management experience within the education sector. He is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and holds various roles with awarding bodies, specialising in quality assurance, examination and assessment. He is the Director of Teaching School for Chiltern Learning Trust, a successful Multi-Academy Trust. He is passionate about making a difference to young people and also holds management positions with a number of other charitable and voluntary sector organisations that are committed to improving the lives of young people.

• President and Trustee

  Nigel Morris

  Nigel Morris has nearly 30 years’ experience in the digital and marketing services industries. He founded Isobar and built it into a global digital business of 3000 people, was Americas and EMEA CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network. He is now an active angel investor and advisor, is a board director of data science business Gyana, a Fellow of LocalGlobe Latitude and is a non-Executive Director of Guardian Media Group.

  [Nigel is a trustee of Monkey Business Foundation, the charity that set up the Working Options in Education programme and will soon be a Working Options trustee.]

• Trustee

  Naynesh Desai

  Naynesh Desai has been a solicitor for over 33 years and was senior partner of Mayfair solicitors DDO before merging the practice with Chan Neill.He advises and acts for a vast array of retailers throughout the United Kingdom, many of which are privately owned and operated family businesses. He also advises several large hotel groups in the United Kingdom. Naynesh has been the Chairman of The Bunbury Dinners which raises money for The English Schools Cricket Association for many years and acts for many high-profile celebrity sportsmen and is on the Board of Ian’s Botham’s “Beefy’s Charitable Foundation.

• Sir Clive Woodward

  Patron

  Sir Clive Woodward is the World Cup -winning Head Coach who led England’s rugby players to World Cup glory in Australia in 2003. A former England International and British and Irish Lion himself, during Clive’s tenure as Head Coach England moved from 6th in the world to being the number one ranked team, winning every trophy an England team can win.

• Lady Jayne Woodward

  Patron

  Jayne started her career as a teacher of History and Geography in the UK. Jayne’s experience and training as a teacher, has been a huge advantage in creating content based on Clive’s sports coaching. Their collaborative content has been used in both a sports and business context and continues to grow. As a business partner, Jayne has managed Clive’s ‘off-pitch activity’ including his charity and fundraising commitments, media work and business speaking for over 20 years.